JP Ross Fly Rods

By now I'm sure you've heard of JP Ross Fly Rods & Co. but just in case you are hiding under a rock without internet service (wait, then how are you reading this?) let me fill you in.

JP Ross fly rods was started by JP Ross himself after years of owning his own fly shop (which he opened at a young age of 20.) Driven to fish from a young age (often bicycling to the water with worms in tow) he aims to not only build quailty rods, but provide a way for kids to get into fishing at a young age just as he did. Checking out his staff list just a few minutes ago, showed that he's got kids on the list. This can only be good for us old geezers since kids minds are so imaginitive and they can provide some great insight, wether it's on fishing, conservation, or rod design. Not just on the staff, but at the fly tying symposium they dedicate a few tables just for kids to learn how to tie. In addition to the kids on the list, he's got some well known and busy fisherman too. No doubt these guys are helping develop better and better fly rods! Also, check out the blogs on his site for some great fishing stuff.

About the rods. JP Ross offers a nice selection of rods to choose from, too many to note here, but details are on the site. Here's what I will share. These rods are well designed and look amazing. I got to check them out and cast a few and I was impressed. I love the detail that's put into them and the little things like laser engraving or grips with inlays that make these rods really stand out from other companies.

JP Ross Fly Rods will even work with you to bring your rod from average to something that's uniquely yours. Recently they put a beer cap on a grip for a customer, and the results turned out great.

If you own a business and are looking for a gift to give your your employees, JP Ross Fly Rods will work together with you to build rods for the whole group, and even add your company logo to them. (As a side note, if you do get corporate rods from JP Ross, let me know.....I want to work for you!)

....and how about this....JP Ross Fly Rods has an incentive discount. Basically, once you are a customer, repeat business by you gets you a discount, even more of a discount if a friend buys a rod from JP Ross and says that you sent them. Not a bad deal considering none of us can resist owning more and more fly rods.

So, where from here? JP Ross is planning on being at Guys, Flies & Pies in a few weeks so you'll have a chance to ask him directly about his rods, and maybe even check a few out if he brings them. If you're not at GFP, he's no doubt going to be running around the symposium in March and have his rods and maybe even have some of his Blue Line Boats on display! Yes, that's right...he even makes boats!

Hook Sale at JStockard

Every January JStockard Fly Fishing has a hook sale. The sale ends soon, but you do have a few days to get in on the deal. Also check out other deals they have going on now.

At the Guys, Flies & Pies event in a few weeks we'll be giving away a gift certificate from JStockard. If the hook sale isn't enough to get you looking at their selection, then the gift certificate will!

$50-$100 Nippers: Update

Thanks to Buster Wants To Fish, we now have learned that Abel offers their $50-100 nippers in multiple colors and fish prints.

They look sweet enough to carry every where, not just on the water. (but, they are still $50+)

Check 'em out!

 

 

LINK to Abel

The 44 Mag Fly Reel

Anyone who follows Guys, Flies & Pies on Facebook ("Like" it now if you haven't done so yet) already knows that The Jesse James Fly Reel Company has donated a 44 Mag fly reel to the event!

Check out this reel:

The spider web frame is probably my favorite part:

This is a large arbor 7/8 reel that holds 100 yards of 20lb backing and is very light weight. 

The reel came in the mail yesterday and I gotta say, this is a slick reel. Not only is it sweet looking, but it's well made. I've spun it around a little, checked it over, taken it apart, and I gotta admit, I want to take it out and give it a test run on a steelhead....but I will resist that urge. Why? Because this reel is going to be raffled off and one of the lucky guys who's attending the event in a few weeks is going to take this reel home! Every year my wife sees the cool stuff that comes in and threatens to "quit GFP" just so she can get in on the raffles. And every year I tell her she can't...this reel makes me want to tell her "you're fired!"

So, instead of giving this a run for it's money, on the iced up creeks, I figured I'd do something a little less destructive to protect your prize....I decided to declare today "Bring Your Jesse James Reel To Work Day."  It's hanging out with me all day, reminding me why I put in 8 hours day in day out at this job.

Check out the Jesse James Reel Company website.

Video Break

Fly Fishing Montana from Scott Gibney on Vimeo.

It was -4 degrees out according to the news this morning. I think overnight it got colder. It was the coldest night since 2005. So, you deserve a 5 minute break to watch this video from Montana when it wasn't quite as cold.  Enjoy!

If you are heading out fishing today, stay warm!

Do Clothes Have Mojo?

Earlier today Cameron at The Fiberglass Manifesto posted on Facebook saying that JP Ross Fly Rods is now advertising on the TFM website! This is great news of course, because JP Ross Fly Rods are awesome, and now more people can discover them and start enjoying the fine craftsmanship that he puts into each of his rods!

In the post on Facebook, I replied that  "I have one of those hats! It helps catch fish and makes you look ten years younger!" To which Cameron replied "it's got mojo? I need to go fly fishing soon and find out."

Well, many of us up North might be too snowed in to go out and test out the mojobility of the hats today (Cameron might be out in the balmy southern weather testing it out now, who knows), so to all those not wearing one on the water today I offer this proof. 

Here's a picture of my daughter minutes before she hooked into a fish. Notice the JP Ross kids hat she's wearing.

JP Ross Kids Hat

Now, check out this picture after she pulled in our families biggest bass ever....a nice fat 20 inch largemouth.  Sure, the hat is not on her head, but who (at age 6) can fight a fish like that (mostly by herself) and not lose their hat?

20 Inch Largemouth Bass

So, do clothes have mojo? If my daughter can pull in a fat bass while wearing a JP Ross hat, I'd say who am I to question the hat? Now, think how mojorific you'd be if next month at the event you win BOTH a JP Ross hat and a shirt from The Fiberglass Manifesto!

The F3T

The F3T = The Fly Fishing Film Tour

Got an update in my email about the F3T, and after checking out their website I found there are 2 NY venues. A few years ago there was one much closer to Rochester, but I unfortunately didn't get out to see it. Now that the venues are hours away, I'm kicking myself for not going a few years ago. I hope it comes back to Rochester....which seems like a better place anyway since we can pull from Buffalo and Syracuse...but until someone decides to put on the show, we'll have to drive.

Here are your NY based options:

Mar-25 / NY  Lake Placid
Apr-16 / NY  Hancock

If you live close to either of those places, it's probably worth taking a look into going. I've never been, but I can only imagine that hanging out with fly fishermen and watching a fishing film sure beats watching ANYTHING else!

Check out the F3T website for more details!

Jim Teeny: Fly Fishing Great Waters

Jim Teeny sent a copy of Fly Fishing Great Waters for one of the prizes at Guys, Flies & Pies next month. I've had a chance to flip through this book and it's going to make a great book to add to your collection.

First of all, let me admit I'm the kind of guy that prefers a restaraunt that has pictures in the menu more than one with only text. I figure if I'm hungry and paying, the last thing I want to do is be forced to read first. Now, I gotta say that this book, although it's not a menu, it's got plenty of pictures to keep even me interested! I know that a few guys who've tied with us have fished with Jim. Although I've never met Jim, he does come to NY to fish and therefore you'll find some pictures in the book of local waters. It was a nice surprise to not only see places I've fished but a friend I've tied and fished with.

I flipped through the pages quickly and can tell that this book can provide a nice "fishing break" for you during the cold winter months!

Stop by and check it out at the event next month!

Hit the link below and see the other products he offeres...lines, gear, accessories, etc.

Jim Teeny online

Punk Rocker

Over the weekend I found a few minutes to try something I've wanted to try for years....stacking deer hair. I've seen flies with stacked deer hair before and always loved the way they looked, but I've never tried it. I tried spinning deer hair once before, and didn't do too well and never tried it again. Recently I've been following the work of Pat Cohen on http://gotbronze.blogspot.com and been extremely impressed. He ties a pattern called a Punk Rocker which combines two of my favorite things....deer hair and mohawks. I've tied a fly or two in the past with mohawk, but never did they turn out even half as cool as his flies. So, last night with a little bit of time (trying to avoid the Miss America Pageant that my wife and mother were watching in the other room) I sat down and tried to tie up a punk rocker...or at least my version of one.

I learned a few things from doing this. No matter how many ties I thought I was almost done, I wasn't. Once I used the hair packer and pushed the hair back I found plenty of bare hook ready and waiting to be covered. I need to use a bit more hair each time. Pat has a video about another one of his deer hair flies, and shows that he uses about 3 pencil sized clumps for top and bottom of each section. I'm pretty sure that's why it seemed like I needed more and more. I also learned that shaving this thing down to size/shape is pretty hard to do. I am now even more amazed how well Pat's look. Shaping is something I definitely need to work on.

Here's a picture of what I was trying to do:

If you are interested in trying these type of flies, I suggest checking out his video he posted a few weeks ago, it has a lot of good info on how to stack hair. I just watched a few minutes of it and picked up a few hints I wish I had remembered while tying the fly above.

Here's a link to the video. It's 30+ minutes, so grab something to drink and sit back and enjoy!

http://gotbronze.blogspot.com/2011/01/1-3-11-hot-butt-toad-tutorial.html


Keep up with his work on his blog at http://gotbronze.blogspot.com

Shawn Davis Original Fly Designs

If you haven't checked out Shawn Davis Original Fly Designs, then take a minute (or 30) now and be amazed.

Shawn makes flies like nothing else. Below is an image of part of one of his hooks. Check out the rest of his site to see the rest of his work...it's truly amazing.

LINK